Tech analysis: Ferrari keeping pace with Mercedes in upgrade race
Ferrari has made a number of key changes to the SF70H for the Spanish GP as the Italian outfit looks to refine its package, rather than totally overhaul the concept.
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Ferrari seemingly has a very good understanding of the package and the way in which the chassis and aero works with Pirelli's tyres, meaning that bold steps in performance are not necessarily the answer at this early stage.
However, with the huge leap taken by Mercedes, the Prancing Horse will be keen to monitor the gap to its closest adversary, especially as the Silver Arrows have had both aerodynamic and power unit updates for the Spanish GP.
Front wing
The Scuderia has retained the front wing first introduced in Bahrain with the additional slot present in the mainplane, although circuit-specific choices have been made in regard to the flaps.
Their angle of attack has been increased in order to balance increased aerodynamic performance at the front and rear of the car.
Bargeboards
Ferrari has revised the main surface of its bargeboards for the Spanish GP, introducing two vertical slots in order to improve efficiency and the operating window.
It's an area that affords much more design ingenuity this year given the relaxation of the box area within the regulations - and teams will be looking for more and more from this area of the car as a result.
T-wing
Ferrari was the first team to show off a T-wing design, which has become a little basic when compared to what others have since been producing up and down the grid.
In Spain, Ferrari reversed that trend, however, mounting a new two-element T-wing, which also features full length slots in both surfaces.
It's suspected that most teams delayed production of more advanced designs based on the result of the last Strategy Group meeting, where the teams could have unanimously decided to remove them for the season.
But as their use has been greenlit for the rest of the campaign, designs that had already been through the rigors of CFD and wind-tunnel testing are now starting to emerge.
Having tested the new T-wing during FP1 and FP2, Raikkonen had it fail during the latter session, the structure breaking off close to the shark fin mounting positions, showing just how highly-loaded these short chord elements are.
Crash structure tail
It seems that Ferrari has decided to take a leaf out of Mercedes' book with this change, installing a tail on the upper surface of the crash structure that reaches back around 15cm.
It may seem like a very minor change but will have a definite impact on the airflow around the crash structure, the upwashing of the exhaust plume and the central extraction of the diffuser.
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